So there might be some second hand gear going cheap eh ... ? Well, you gotta look on the bright side..
Auckland Astronomical Society has well over 700 members and is growing at the rate of about 70 per year. A very publicly active group ( they run Aucklands Stardome Observatory ), meetings are held every week and usually attract 30-50 attendees. Some nights are two sessions, an earlier photog group, then a lecture\film\Planetarium session after. Very diverse age group and plenty of ladies active as well.
Seems to be growing over here with the interest in current space developments.